'antrorse' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'anterorsus' (attested in post-classical/medieval Latin), where 'ante-' meant 'before, forward' and the element related to 'versus'/'vertere' conveyed 'turned'.

'antrorse' was used in scientific Latin to denote 'turned forward'; it was adopted into English in technical and botanical usage as 'antrorse', and the adverbial form 'antrorsely' was later formed by adding the English adverbial suffix '-ly'.

Initially it meant 'turned forward' in Latin and retained this basic sense; in modern English it is now a specialized term used chiefly in botany and morphology to mean 'directed forward or upward'.